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The War in the South
The War in the South was a regional war in southern continent lasting from 3322 to 3328 on the Senic Calendar. It is the largest armed conflict in history involving over 25 million military personnel. Estimates place deaths from direct causes of the war at over 10 million military deaths and 750 thousand civilians. Background Hegemonic Rivalries The Third Peninsular War had been a total disaster for the Kingdom of Faland. Resulting in the Falandese Civil War. The victorious rebels proclaimed the Falandese Empire. By 3255 the Falandese Empire had regained the land lost in the Third Pennisular War. By 3273 Faland had become a the local seat of power, presiding over the fifth largest territory in the world at the time. The Senic Order was proclaimed in 3277 and instantly knocked the Falandese Empire off the seat of local hegemony. The rapid and occasionally violent expansion of Senic influence only furthered the decline of Falandese influence in local and global affairs. The incorporation of Ore marked the end of the Expansion of the Sphere. Placing The Senic Order firmly in the position of local hegemony and enough influence to place them into the ranks of the global super powers. Border Friction Ore and the Talucen House of The Senic Order itself directly bordered the Falandese Empire. Both had historically butted heads with certain client states of the Falandese Empire. Though the Falandese overlords had previously only gone as far as occasional posturing to ensure no attempts on their land would be made, and to appease the locals. The sudden change in the nature of their neighbors from minor powers, to an enormous super state to rival the most powerful nations in the world, changed the tune of the Falandese rather quickly. Prelude Before the war had even begun the The Falandese Empire began long term preparation. Construction began on fortifications from which they were to fall back on if an initial offensive was unsuccessful. They also beleived that a war would eventually bring drag the NCA into conflict with The Order, in order to finally bring Skivia into the fold of the NCA. Parts of the Falandese Empire was kept at war time strength in order execute battle plans at a moments notice without the need for mobilization. The Order on the other hand believed that a war with the NCA was a much more likely scenario. The Nuvian Penninsula was much closer to the Senic capital region, the NCA had a larger economy and thus better funding for a long term war, and they believed had a larger motive; finally having Skivia sign onto the NCA itself. Progress Opening Hositilites Invasion of Ore War was declared on The Senic Order on the grounds of "Protecting the world from tyranny". The majority of the Senic Sphere delcared war on the Falandese Empire the following day. However, the Falandese military had already began the offensive within hours of the declaration. Ore's meager military strength was annihilated and Ore surrendered in the opening months of the war. Invasion of Talucen House The Falandese offensive was mostly directed at the Senic House of Talucen. Where The Senic Order was poorly prepared to fight a war. The local garrison was ordered to consolidate near the House Capital of Hisacin. The Senic soldiers would hold for several weeks in the Battle of Hisacin before eventually being ordered to abandon the house and retreat to the new defensive line. The Falandese army had achieved a major victory with significantly less casualties than The Order. Stagnation Trenches Dug The new defensive line would remain virtually unchanged for years. The Order had regrouped and stalled the offensive, several thousand kilometers from their capital. Instead of falling back to the fortified line within their own borders, Faland chose to dig new fortifications. For nearly two and a half years the war remained a stalemate on Senic soil. Naval Actions A large section of the Senic Navy was recalled from the Nuvian Straights to defend the southern coastline. Limited skirmishes occurred with neither side having a major reason to engage in a decisive battle along the southern coast. The more famous naval action occurred on the eastern coast of Faland. The Senic battlecruiser Mecan continued to raid Falandese shipping, harbors, and even attacking smaller warships for well over a year before finally being cornered by a Falandese battlegroup and being sunk with all hands. Skivian Rebellion The NCA funded Skivian Rebellion began and ended. Dealing a crippling blow to the morale of Senic forces, and also, the original Falandese invasion plan. It was now clear the NCA had no intention of full scale war with The Order. Turning Point The Tank The Senic Order now had low morale, mounting casualties, both civilian and military, with no end in sight. The War Department put out a vague request open to any corporations with a military license to "create a weapon that could end the war". Cule Soyun submitted a blueprint of an "Armored Assault Tractor" to the War Department, detailing a vehicle to cross trenches and invulnerability to rifle and even small cannon fire. Though this design would not reach the front, more practical derivatives would turn the tide to Senic favor. The tank had arrived on the battlefield. Senic Counter Offensives Operation Mudflat would see the first deployment of the newly created tanks. In spite of a high number of breakdowns, the tanks achieved a decisive victory. The Order would continue to press it's advantage, keeping the front moving eastward for as long as possible. An attempt by Faland to regain the initiative would result in the Second Battle of Hisacin. It would be among the worst defeats dealt the to Falandese Empire of the entire war. Offensives into Faland The fortifications dug in the pre war era would allow Faland to continue in yet another stalemate for seven months. The Senic Army finally achieved a breakthrough in the Battle of the Faland Line, what would become the largest use of armor of the war, and the bloodiest battle in history. Shortly after the battle the Falandese Government signed an unconditional surrender to The Senic Order. Aftermath Dismantlement of the Empire Following the surrender, The Senic Order dismantled the Falandese Empire. Incorporating the constituent nations into the Senic Sphere. The Falandese military and government would be reorganized to align with Senic military order. Military industry within the country would be converted to produce Senic designs under license. Global Changes The war would cement The Senic Order as the global leader in military prowess. Counting The Sphere they effectively controlled half of an entire continent. The combined economy of The Sphere was now the largest in the world. In Frumaheif, the war would become very controversial. Some were happy that Faland had been knocked off it's seat of power. However, others saw it as a compromise in their friendship with the Senic Order. Due to the fact that Faland was now part of the Senic Sphere, Senic interests were now Falandese interests. Supporting anything that could be beneficial to the unforgotten traitors, was unthinkable to many Frumaheivians. The Frumaheivian-Senic Split would result from this strain. Marking the end of direct Senic influence in Continent 2. The NCA would initially suffer from taking in Skivia. Their economy was not as well suited to propping up a puppet as The Order's was. Instead an incredible amount of resources needed to be spent to bring Skivia back to up a self sufficient state. In spite of the resource drain, and correlated drop in budget for virtually all other aspects of government spending, including the military, the NCA had a general atmosphere of empowerment. They had for intensive purposes won their cold war with The Senic Order, Skvia had been reunited with the mainland. The NCA believed it should no longer be viewed as a nation between two giants, but a giant on it's own. Military Changes The hellish battlefields of the war had redefined warfare on their own. Even excluding the first large scale usage of machine guns and tanks, warfare had been changed permanently. Showing that even a smaller country, Faland being under half the size of the Senic Order, could in fact due incredible damage to a much larger foe, even if they couldn't win in the long run. It also has the distinction of the first major war fought with "modern" firearm technology. The days of black power artillery and muskets was gone. Replaced by precision instruments of destruction. Repeating weaponry also saw it's first mass deployment in the hands of the Falandese troops, to great affect in the close quarters engagements of most major battles. The machine gun gave defense an incredible advantage. And is largely responsible for Faland's better than what would be expected performance against The Order. The biggest game changer of the war, however, was the tank. It reversed the defensive advantage on it's debut. The arms race of tank vs anti-tank had begun, as well international need to copy, or out due this new weapon. So powerful was this new weapon, that The Order kept the project and even tried to keep it's success under wraps for as long as possible to avoid the possibility of international attention, and competition. The Senic Sphere Though The Senic Order would emerge victorious, the war was as much an eye opener for them as it was the rest of the world. It had exposed critical flaws with the Senic Sphere. Most obvious, the military system was too reliant on The Order itself. Over 95% of casualties taken by the Sphere were from The Order, in spite of accounting for only 60% of the population. Ore had proven woefully incapable of defending itself, and Skivia unable to quell a rebellion. To a lesser extent exposed that the system was flawed at it's core, the loss of Skivia had not just dented morale and available manpower, but damaged the economy of The Order, and put strain on the very fiber of the Sphere as a whole. It was perhaps woven too tightly to handle stresses.